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The 

George Washington University 

Bulletin 



THE RELATION OF EDUCATION TO PATRIOTISM 



Published by the University at Washington, D. C. 
December 24, 1904 



Gift 
The University 



THE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 



THE RELATION OF EDUCATION TO PATRIOTISM. 

"An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man." — Emerson. 

George Washington in his last will and testament, written 
by 'his own hand and executed on the 9th of July, 1799, said : 

" It has been my ardent wish to see a plan devised, on a lib- 
eral scale, which would have a tendency to spread systematic 
ideas through all parts of this rising empire, thereby to do away 
[with] local attachments and state prejudices, as far as the nature 
of things would, or indeed ought to admit, from our national 
councils. Ivooking anxiously forward to the accomplishment 
of so desirable an object as this is (in my estimation), my mind 
has not been able to contemplate any plan more likely to effect 
the measure than the establishment of a university in a central 
part of the United States, to Which the youths of fortune and 
talents from all parts thereof might be sent, for the completion 
of their education in all the branches of polite literature, in the 
arts and sciences, in acquiring knowledge in the principles of 
politics and good government; and, as a matter of infinite im- 
portance, in my judgment, by associating' with each other, and 
forming friendships in juvenile years, be enabled to free them- 
selves in a proper degree from those local prejudices and 
habitual jealousies, which have just been mentioned, and which, 
when carried to excess, are never-failing sources of disquietude 
to the public mind, and pregnant with mischievous conse- 
quences to this country." 

In a speech to both houses of Congress, December 7, 1796, 
President Washington said : 

"Amongst the motives to such an institution, the assimila- 
tion of the principles, opinions, and manners of our countrymen, 
by the common education of a portion of our youth from every 
quarter, well deserves attention. The more homogeneous our 
citizens can be made in these particulars the greater will be 
our prospect of permanent union ; and a primary object of such 
a national institution should be the education of our youth in 
the science of government. In a republic what species of 
knowledge can be equally important, and What duty more press- 



ing on its legislature, than to patronize a plan for communicat- 
ing it .to those who are to be the future guardians of the liber- 
ties of the country ? " 

Again, writing from Philadelphia to the Commissioners of 
the Federal District, January 28, 1795, Washington said : 

" The Federal City from its centrality and the advantages 
which in other respects it must have over any other place in the 
United States ought to be preferred as a proper site for such a 
university." 

These are not the words of a partisan — they are the words' 
of a patriot, inspired by the broadest patriotism. Washington 
'Sought an institution not for the institution's sake ; in the fed- 
eral city not for the federal city's sake ; but an institution that 
should realize for the nation in the highest possible degree that 
unity of conception of federal power, that broad national 
charity among all the people that could be engendered only by 
bringing together at the seat of national government students 
from every part of the nation. Here they were to learn the 
(science of state building — a state with absolute sovereignty 
over those activities which entitle the state to be one in the 
family of nations. The complex form of our government, so 
difficult for many to understand and yet so simple and perfect 
in its operation when understood, was to be studied from the 
seat of national power, where the governmental functions of 
national and international activities are being exercised and 
local interests subordinated and harmonized to the one great 
organic whole, to the end that the national government might 
stand before the world perfect and powerful as a great state. 

The reasons given by President Washington for a university 
in the federal city have been greatly reinforced by instrumen- 
talities which have grown up and developed since his day. The 
city has increased its population to three hundred thousand 
people without developing industrial or commercial enterprises. 
Its people are engaged in intellectual, social, and governmental 
pursuits. It has the largest permanent body of scientific in- 
vestigators in the country, and is the national meeting place of 
educators and scientists. The discussion and determination of 



public questions, the spirit of nationalism, and the intellectual 
life constitute an educational and humanizing influence of the 
greatest value in the development of the American scholar. 
The city possesses a decided academic atmosphere, and facilities 
of the greatest value to students. 

Herbert Putnam, LL. D., Librarian of Congress, said, in 
June, 1903 : " There are thus in the city of Washington thirty- 
four governmental libraries freely available for research. These 
libraries now contain in the aggregate over two million books 
and pamphlets and over a half million other articles literary in 
character — manuscripts, maps, music, and prints. If we add to 
them the contents of the District Library and of the libraries 
of private associations and institutions * * * we shall have 
a total not merely greater than is to be found in any other city 
of this size in the world, but one which, in proportion to popula- 
tion, represents several times as many volumes per capita as 
exist for public use in any other city of the world." 1 

Students can visit the sessions of the Congress of the United 
States and of the Supreme Court of the United States, and can 
examine the archives and library of the State Department, 
where national, diplomatic, and judicial history is being made. 
These are the original sources of knowledge upon these sub- 
jects. In the collections of the National Museum, the Smith- 
sonian Institution, the Army and Medical Museum, the Museum 
of Naval Hygiene, and the departmental museums are found 
extensive series of specimens, many of them types of great 
value to the student of anthropology, archaeology, mineralogy, 
paleontology, biology in all its branches, and other topics for 
research. In the Patent Office are the records and models of 
invention, many of which have modified the conditions under 
which we live. 

In the experimental sciences are the Weather Bureau, with 
its appliances for the study of meteorology; the Coast and 
Geodetic Survey, through whose agency and work the figure 
of the earth and terrestrial magnetism are experimentally de- 
termined ; the Hydrographic Bureau, which conducts the survey 
of foreign coasts and the study of ocean currents ; the Bureau 
of Standards, which standardizes the instruments used in meas- 



uring mass, volume, heat, liglht, electricity, and all other mag- 
nitudes ; the Geological Survey, which investigates the structure 
of the earth, ascertains our mineral resources, and supervises 
the sources of supply and means for distribution and control 
of water for irrigation purposes; the Department of Agricul- 
ture, which exists primarily for conducting original investiga- 
tions for the benefit of agriculture in all its branches, and is 
therefore provided with extensively equipped laboratories for 
the study of chemistry, botany, vegetable physiology, ento- 
mology, bio-chemistry, bacteriology, comparative pathology, 
parasitology, the physics and chemistry of the soil, forestry, 
and microscopy ; the Naval Observatory and Nautical Almanac 
Office, where researches in astronomy and navigation are con- 
ducted ; the Marine Hospital Service, which deals with national 
problems in hygiene ; the Bureaus of Construction and of Steam 
Engineering of the Navy, having supervision over the designs 
and construction of our. ships ; the Bureau of Yards and Docks, 
having supervision over the engineering operations at our navy 
yards and naval stations; the Bureau of Equipment, which is 
charged with the electrical installations for the Navy; the U. 
S. Signal Corps, which has supervision over the electrical in- 
stallations for the Army; the Engineer Corps of the Army, 
which is charged with river and harbor improvements, and the 
Light-House Board, which controls the system for lighting our 
navigable waters. 

Of chemical laboratories for conducting the tests of materials, 
and especially for research work, there are now eighteen 
attached to the different departments at Washington. In the 
graphic arts there is especial activity, as map-making and chart- 
work is carried on in almost every bureau, while the Supervis- 
ing Architect's Office of the Treasury Department is the largest 
office of its kind in the country. The student of pedagogy will 
find here abundant material collected by the U. S. Bureau of 
Education. 

In the Bureau of Steam Engineering and of Construction 
and Repair, and Ordnance, of the Navy, there is projected and 
detailed more heavy work than probably in any other part of 



the country. Here is also located the United States Navy or 
Ordnance Gun Factory, which is freely open to visits of in- 
spection. The ordnance proving station is located but a few- 
miles down the Potomac. Tours of inspection can be made to 
the large steel works and shipbuilding plants in Baltimore, 
while other trips can be made to the shipbuilding plant at New- 
port News. Washington is also the headquarters for military 
engineering, as the War Department has charge of all river 
and harbor improvements for the country, and here is located 
the headquarters of the Engineer School of Application for 
the Army. Observations of Patent Office methods will be 
found advantageous to any engineer. For students intending 
to pursue special research work or investigations, the oppor- 
tunities for extending knowledge into the literature of a given 
subject are unequaled. The laboratories of the Agricultural 
Department offer superior facilities for all kinds of bacterio- 
logical investigations, and for the study of bio-chemistry, com- 
parative pathology, and parasitology. 

These facilities are provided and maintained at government 
expense ; they have been gathered through years of effort by a 
large body of scientific workers and the expenditure of millions 
of dollars ; their purchase and the cost of maintenance are far 
beyond the financial ability of any institution to undertake, and 
they are by act of Congress freely offered to students in the 
university. 

The; George; Washington University is national in its 
aims. It was organized by an act of Congress, February 9, 
182 1, under the name Columbian. President Monroe, approv- 
ing the charter, said : 

"The act of incorporation is well digested, looks to the 
proper objects, and grants the powers well adapted to their 
attainment. The establishment of the institution within the 
federal district, in the presence of Congress, and of all the de- 
partments of the government, will secure to the young men 
who may be interested in it many important advantages, among 
which the opportunity which it will afford them of hearing the 
debates in Congress and in the Supreme Court on important 
subjects must be obvious to all. With these peculiar advan- 
tages, this institution, if it receives hereafter the proper encour- 



agement, cannot fail to be eminently useful to the nation. Under 
this impression, I trust that such encouragement will not he 
withheld from it." 

By act of Congress approved January 23, 1904, amending 
the charter, the university is made non-sectarian and authority 
given the board to change the name. Pursuant to this authority 
and with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Commissioner of Education, and an agreement with the George 
Washington Memorial Association, the name was on Septem- 
ber 1, 1904, changed to The George Washington University. 
The board of trustees was reorganized after this amendment 
of the charter, giving a wide representation to the country. Mr. 
Wayne MaeVeagh, a member and chairman of the board, is 
from the state of Pennsylvania, and has an international repu- 
tation, having served the country in the cabinet, in the diplo- 
matic service, and before international tribunals ; Senator Jacob 
H. Gallinger, of New Hampshire, represents the Eastern 
States; Senator Francis G. Newlands represents the Pacific 
Coast; Governor Andrew J. Montague represents the South; 
Mr. Henry Kirke Porter, of Pittsburg, represents the Middle 
West ; Mr. Eugene Levering and Mr. George O. Manning 
the adjoining state of Maryland ; Hon. Henry B. F. Mac- 
farland the District government ; Mr. Charles D. Walcott, 
Director of the Geological Survey, and Professor Alexan- 
der Graham Bell, represent the scientific organizations of 
the District; the Alumni are represented by William F. Mat- 
tingly, Theodore W. Noyes, John B. Earner, John Joy Edson, 
Myron M. Parker, and Doctor Charles W. Richardson; and 
other interests in the city are represented by Dr. Samuel H. 
Greene, Dr. Edward M. Gallaudet, Mr. S. W. Woodward, Mr. 
David A. Chambers, and Mr. William S. Shallenberger. 

The university has over 4,600 alumni, so distributed over 
the country that, like its present student body of 1,500 students, 
every state in the union is represented, as well as eig J ht foreign 
countries. With its national charter, illustrious name, national 
representation in the board of trustees, and the wide distribu- 
tion of its student body, this university is thoroughly national, 
and thus meets the views expressed by him whose name it bears. 



In 1903 the educational work was entirely reorganized and 
the University is now constituted as follows : 

Department of Arts and Sciences, with divisions as follows : 

(a) Columbian College ; courses leading to the degrees of 

Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science. 

(b) Graduate Studies; courses leading to the degrees of 

Master of Arts, Master of Science, degrees in En- 
gineering, and the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 

(c) Architecture ; courses leading to the degree of Bach- 

elor of Science in Architecture. 
Department of Medicine : 

(a) Medical; four-year course leading to the degree of 

Doctor of Medicine. 

(b) Dental; three-year course leading to the degree of 

Doctor of Dental Surgery. 

Department of Law and Jurisprudence; three-year course 
leading to the degree of Bachelor of Laws; graduate 
course, one year, leading to the degree of Master of Laws ; 
graduate course, three years, leading to the degree of 
Doctor of Jurisprudence. 

Department of Politics and Diplomacy; two-year course 
leading to the degree of Master of Diplomacy ; three-year 
course leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 

Since the reorganization there has been an increase of about 
three hundred students, showing how quickly a response comes 
to all advances made in the work. With the needed new build- 
ings proposed and the enlargment of its faculties by endow- 
ment, the university should soon become one of the largest in 
the country. 

Tihe assets of the university are valued at one million four 
hundred thousand dollars. Among the holdings are its ground 
at the corner of H and Fifteenths streets, in Washington, con- 
taining 20,175 square feet, with two buildings thereon, which 
will not be required when the university moves to its new site, 
and the Columbian building on Fifth street, a recently con- 



structed steel fireproof office building, in every way modern and 
well tenanted, constructed by money contributed by William 
W. Corcoran, which will be better used for the purposes in- 
tended by the donor in constructing a university hall upon the 
new site, to be called Corcoran Hall. In view of these changes 
the trustees 'have adopted a plan to sell these two properties and 
with the proceeds — which will be ample — to pay (i) all the 
debts of the university, (2) reimburse the university for the 
purchase price of Van Ness Park, and (3) construct Corcoran 
Hall on the new site ; this policy to be carried out while the new 
buildings are being constructed. This will leave the university 
entirely free of debt, and possessed of five acres of ground for 
its central buildings, which, with the remaining assets, will 
amount in value to nine hundred thousand dollars, exclusive 
of the new buildings hereafter referred to. 

The university has purchased a site consisting of five acres, 
fronting the President's Park, south of the White House, and 
the Washington Monument grounds. It is the old Van Ness 
property, and is near the site selected by Washington for a 
university. It has adjoining and around it over one thousand 
acres of public grounds, and is within walking distance of all 
the splendid facilities for educational purposes enumerated 
above. Six prominent architects from Washington, Baltimore, 
New York, and Boston have been selected to prepare a general 
ground plan for the improvement of this site, and definite plans 
for the memorial building. The jury to decide the competition 
consists of Mr. Charles F. MeKim, chairman, the other mem- 
bers of the Park Commission, and Mr. Bernard R. Green. It 
is expected that the final plans will be determined and accepted 
the first of the new year. Adjoining vacant property can be 
purchased, so as to increase the site to twenty-five or thirty 
acres when funds are available for the purpose. 

The George Washington Memorial Association was started 
with a view to memorialize Washington's idea of a national 
institution and to provide a building for scientific research and 
graduate study. 

A body of patriotic women, representing different parts of 
the United States, met in the city of Washington, and the result 



of their conference was the incorporation, in September, 1898, 
of this association. The objects of the association, stated in 
the charter, are " to advance and secure the establishment in 
the city of Washington of an university for the purposes and 
with the objects substantially as set forth in and by the last will 
of George Washington, the first President of the United States, 
and to increase the opportunties for higher education of the 
youth of the United States." This movement was to provide 
for research and graduate work. 

The membership of the association increased, and consider- 
able sums of money were given and subscribed by educated 
and patriotic persons throughout the country to a permanent 
building fund held in trust by the Association for a proposed 
•memorial building, the subscriptions and cash in hand amount- 
ing to about fifty thousand dollars. 

Another movement was started by the Washington Academy 
of Sciences to establish educational facilities for research and 
graduate work. This resulted in the incorporation of the 
Washington Memorial Institution. The institution had before 
it the work of general research and the utilization of the facili- 
ties in the departments at Washington for graduate students. 
The establishment, in 1902, of the Carnegie Institution pro- 
vided for the first object in view by the Memorial Association 
and the Memorial Institution — that of research work. The 
second object, an institution for graduate students, remained 
to be adequately provided for. 

In the fall of 1903 conferences were held between the repre- 
sentatives of the Washington Memorial Institution and the 
university looking to suitable provision for graduate work. 
The university decided to have its charter changed, making the 
institution non-sectarian, to elect to membership upon its 
board of trustees representatives from the Memorial Insti- 
tution, enlarging its courses and corps of professors and in- 
structors to carry on the proposed graduate work in Washing- 
ton. At the same time negotiations were entered upon with 
the George Washington Memorial Association looking to the 
fulfilment of its objects by the building of a George Washing- 
ton Memorial to be used as an administration building for the 



IO 

university under this reorganization. These conferences came 
to a very satisfactory conclusion. 

At a meeting of the executive committee of the George 
Washington Memorial Association, in April, 1904, after due 
consideration of the plans of the university and its reorganiza- 
tion, the committee made a proposition to the university, sug- 
gesting that the association would co-operate upon condition 
that the university would take the name "The George Wash- 
ington University." 

On April 30, 1904, a meeting of the General Alumni Associa- 
tion of Columbian University was held in Washington, at 
which a statement was made by the president of the university 
concerning the proposed change of name, and the following 
resolutions were unanimously adopted : 

" Whereas, The Alumni of Columbian University assembled 
in Washington this 30th day of April, 1904, have listened to 
the proposed plan for the change of name and the organization 
of an auxiliary corporation to be known as Columbian College, 
and the proposition of the George Washington Memorial Asso- 
ciation to buHd an administration building upon the new site, 
to be known as the George Washington Memorial Hall, and 
to be used by Columbian University, upon condition that the 
name of the university be changed to The George Washington 
University ; therefore, 

"Resolved, That we approve said plans and recommend the 
acceptance of said proposition by the board of trustees ; 

"Resolved, That the president of this association convey to 
the George Washington Memorial Association our hearty ap- 
preciation of their interest in and co-operation with the plan to 
make the university national in its aims and work." 

On May 2, 1904, at a meeting of the board of trustees of the 
university " Points of Agreement " were formulated and 
adopted by the trustees and forwarded to the president of the 
Memorial Association. These were submitted to the trustees 
of the George Washington Memorial Association at its semi- 
annual meeting on iMay 5, 1904, and were duly ratified. The 
agreement is as follows : 

"First — The George Washington Memorial Association 
agrees to undertake the raising of sufficient funds, estimated to 



II 



be $500,000, to construct the central building in the proposed 
university group of buildings upon Van Ness Park, the build- 
ing to be known as the George Washington Memorial; the 
plans of the building to be approved by the executive com- 
mittees respectively of the association and the university ; the 
building to be used as the administration building of the uni- 
versity, and the auditorium for lectures, gatherings of an edu- 
cational character, meetings of international tribunals, and of 
scientific organizations, under such regulations as the univer- 
sity shall from time to time prescribe. The university shall 
have charge of the construction, care, and maintenance of said 
building, and the building shall belong to and be the property 
of the university. 

"Second — The university agrees to change its name in ac- 
cordance with the provisions of the act of Congress approved 
January 23, 1904, to The George Washington University, the 
name to be approved by the Secretary of the Interior and the 
Commissioner of Education, as provided in said act, the change 
to go into effect and the name to be used on and after Septem- 
ber 1, 1904. This name shall, upon completion of said build- 
ing, be considered as adopted in perpetuity in pursuance of this 
agreement between the association and said university, and 
shall not thereafter be changed, the adoption in perpetuity 
being of the essence of this agreement. 

"Third — The George Washington Memorial Association 
shall, upon the acceptance of these terms, by its board of trus- 
tees, forthwith proceed to complete its auxiliary state organiza- 
tions, and proceed to secure the necessary subscriptions for said 
building, and steadily prosecute the same to completion, and in 
all matters of the presentation of this subject to its local bodies, 
the university, through its president, will co-operate with the 
association." 

As before noted, the name was changed and has been in use 
since September 1, 1904, and representatives of the Washington 
Memorial Institution and the Association were elected to mem- 
bership on the board of trustees of The George Washington 
University. 

The aim of the board is to establish a university on what may 
be called the American type, strictly non-sectarian and carry- 
ing on only post-graduate and professional work. It will have 
affiliated with it, however, undergraduate colleges, doing strictly 
undergraduate work and having representation in the councils 



U LofG. 



12 



of the university. Each college will foe incorporated under 
the general laws of the District of Columbia, with a separate 
board of trustees, which shall have charge of the college, 
and be responsible for its conduct and maintenance. These 
colleges will be upon the general site of the university. Educa- 
tionally they will be a part of the system of the university, 
catalogued under the Department of Arts and Sciences. The 
highest officer of a college will be a dean, and the dean and 
faculty of each college will be members of the university coun- 
cils; all degrees will be conferred by the university upon the 
recommendation of the college faculties, the standard of ad- 
mission and educational work in the colleges being approved 
by the university council. All laboratories of the university 
will be open to and courses conducted therein for undergrad- 
uates in the colleges without charge, except that all laboratory 
fees and breakage deposits will be fixed by and paid to the 
university. Undergraduate students pursuing their senior 
course may, with the consent of the college faculty, take elective 
or graduate courses in the university. 

This arrangement will reduce the expense of undergraduate 
work in the colleges and give a university life to all the work. 
This feature follows in part the organization of the University 
of Oxford and of Cambridge in England. The first college to be 
organized under this plan is the Columbian College, established 
by the Baptist denomination. It is expected that other denomi- 
nations, and possibly some patriotic organizations, will organize 
other colleges around the university upon this general plan. 
The board of trustees of the university will encourage the de- 
velopment of these colleges. 

Memorial Building. The George Washington Memorial 
Association has undertaken the raising of $450,000, in addition 
to its present available funds, to erect the memorial administra- 
tion building. This building will be the center of the group 
on Van Ness Park. It will contain offices of administra- 
tion, four large lecture rooms, an auditorium with a seating 
capacity of 2,000, and a memorial hall. In design it will be 
classical and fitting its environment. In this national enterprise 



13 

the association asks the support of all the friends of education 
who believe in utilizing the advantages in the city of Washing- 
ton, and realizing the aims and purposes set forth in the writ- 
ings of George Washington. 

Alumni. The Alumni Association, by resolution, have un- 
dertaken to raise $150,000, to construct a hall to contain a 
large dining room or commons, seating four or five hundred 
persons, reception, library and reading rooms, room for busi- 
ness meetings of the alumni, fraternities, committees, etc., with 
chambers for visiting alumni. This hall is to be the social cen- 
ter of university life. In this effort the alumni will appeal to 
all graduates of the university, as well as to friends of the uni- 
versity in the city of Washington, for contribution. 

Trustees. The trustees of the university are raising the 
sum of one hundred thousand dollars to prevent any deficiency 
in running expenses during the next five years, and to enlarge 
the educational work of the university to meet the increasing 
demands. During this period it is hoped the new buildings 
will be constructed, the two properties above referred to sold, 
and all the debts of the university paid, and it is confidently 
hoped that further endowment will be secured. 

Department of Politics and Diplomacy. The study of 
politics, economics, and diplomacy can be carried on by grad- 
uate students in the city of Washington better than in any 
other place. It is here that political and diplomatic history is 
being made, and the official reports in reference to economic 
movements in the United States and all parts of the world are 
daily received. Congress, the executive departments, and the 
Supreme Court of the United States, are open to students. The 
university appeals to men of large means and patriotic impulses 
to contribute two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a build- 
ing and equipment for this special work, and five hundred thou- 
sand dollars as the beginning of an endowment for the depart- 
ment. This endowment will enable the university to add five 
distinguished professors upon the important subjects to be 
taught, and with the income from tuitions provide assistants 
and lecturers. The department had last year eighty students. 



The university authorities propose to make this in every way a 
school of the first rank. 

A Graduate; Department op Public Health. This is 
intended to be a department of civics in the subjects of pre- 
ventive medicine and constitutional and administrative law. Its 
principal aim will be to fit men for service upon public boards 
of 'health — national, state, and municipal — and to make a special 
study of the prevention of diseases. Much of this work is being 
carried on by the government in the departments here, and it 
only remains for the university to organize a faculty and ar- 
range systematic courses of study. It can use its medical build- 
ing already constructed. To inaugurate this work requires an 
endowment of two hundred thousand dollars. An appeal is 
therefore made to men who are interested in the prevention of 
'human diseases, and also those who are interested in the quar- 
antine of live stock throughout the country. It is evident to all 
familiar with the subject that in the proper administration of 
these laws a more thorough knowledge of preventive medicine 
and a knowledge of personal and property rights and adminis- 
trative law are essential. 

Department op Bibliography and Library Science. 
Throughout the country we have many libraries, and in the 
states and at the national capital we have large and valuable 
reference libraries for students; of these the Congressional is 
the largest and best equipped. There is a growing and impor- 
tant demand, especially in the reference libraries, for students 
who have been broadly trained in bibliography as well as in 
library science. The storing, cataloguing and handling of 
books is of importance in every library, but the reference 
libraries require men and women who are specially qualified to 
give reliable information regarding books and manuscripts. 
There is a large demand for a school of this type at the national 
capital. The university has the room for this work and the 
Congressional Library will furnish the very best laboratory 
facilities. To begin the work requires an endowment of two 
hundred thousand dollars. 

Laboratories. Laboratories are necessary for the enlarged 
work proposed by the university. Each of these buildings 



15 

should cover an area of 150 iby 200 feet, and with the ground 
each building will cost from $100,000 to $150,000: 

(a) Chemical Laboratory. Chemistry is essential in train- 
ing students in any of the sciences, medicine, dentistry, public 
health, and other professions. It is a cultural subject as well 
and is offered in the arts courses. It must be taught in labora- 
tories. Our present chemical laboratories are old and over- 
crowded. An independent, fireproof, modern laboratory build- 
ing is imperatively needed, which will provide for the needs of 
-the new undergraduate students, the professional courses, and 
research work. 

(b) Biological Laboratory. Botany, zoology, physiology, 
and the other sciences relating to life and to vital processes, can 
be properly taught only by laboratory methods. The student 
must himself observe the processes and results. Washington is 
rich in museum collections, but the laboratory work must be 
done at the university. 

(c) Physical Laboratory. The Physical Laboratory will 
provide for instruction and research in pure physics and elec- 
tricity. It will contain a large lecture room seating two hun- 
dred and fifty students, and a number of smaller lecture and 
class rooms. For laboratory work there will be provided a 
large laboratory for general physics, and special rooms for 
work in electricity, sound, heat, and light. In addition there 
will be many smaller rooms for investigation and research for 
the use of instructors and advanced students. 

(d) Engineering Laboratory. This laboratory will contain 
a number of class rooms and drawing rooms for engineering 
classes, but in the main it will be used for shop, laboratory, and 
testing purposes. Ample provision will be made for making 
and repairing the apparatus used in all departments for instruc- 
tion and research, and for the training of students in the prin- 
cipal processes and appliances used in engineering. For the 
practical work of the students there will be dynamo laboratories, 
steam and gas engine laboratories, hydraulic laboratory, and" 
testing laboratories for cements and metals. 

(e) Power Plant. The power for laboratories and the heat- 
ing and lighting of all the university buildings will be supplied 



APR 5 1905 



16 



from the central power plant of the university, Which will be in 
a separate building, placed between the physical and engineer- 
ing laboratories, and will be arranged to afford opportunity for 
making tests of large machines under working conditions. 

Dormitories. There are planned for Van Ness Park eight 
dormitory buildings, each building having eight suites of 
rooms consisting of a study and two bedrooms, closets, and 
bath. Adjacent grounds for additional buildings can be pur- 
chased at very reasonable prices. No better investment of en- 
dowment funds can be made, as these buildings will be upon 
unincumbered ground belonging to the university, and there 
are already students enough desiring these facilities to fill them 
at profitable rental. Community life in every educational insti- 
tution is essential in stimulating the student, creating men of 
broad, healthful ideas, with a knowledge of affairs and strong, 
impulsive ambition. Men go out from institutions having this 
community life with ideas that 'have been tested in the labora- 
tory of conversation, a familiarity with public questions, a self- 
possession and poise that can be obtained in no other way. 
These buildings will cost from fifteen to twenty thousand dol- 
lars each, according to finish. 

This plan for developing and establishing a great university 
at the national capital calls for the support and contributions 
of generous and patriotic people. The money contributed will 
secure more than a university; it will enable the youth of the 
land to take advantage of these rare opportunities for study, 
and create a body of men in all the states whose conceptions of 
national power and its exercise will have been formed and 
unified by association and study at the seat of government, and 
whose acquaintance with men from every part of the union and 
from all the civilized nations of the earth will create a spirit of 
broad charity and loyal devotion to the Union. 

Charts Willis Needham, 

President. 

Washington, D. C, 

December 24, 1904. 



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